An ANCIENT dye could be a new way to tackle dry, itchy skin. A cream-based extract made from woad – a member of the cabbage family, used to make a blue dye for textiles and tattoos in medieval times – helped symptoms of dry skin, according to research in the journal Dermatologic Therapy.
Itchiness halved, quality of life improved by almost 50 per cent and sufferers’ symptoms improved by more than 60 per cent overall.
Previous research has suggested that compounds in the plant have anti-inflammatory properties.
No side-effects were reported in the study, say the dermatologists from University Hospital Münster, Germany.
